[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Archaeology, epigraphy and coins](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy) › [Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D.](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003) › c26.s16 # Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s16: 6.16 Dual values of the letters e and o Early Tamil Epigraphy: From the Earliest Times to the Sixth Century A.D. c26.s16 - **Language:** English ### 6.16 Dual values of the letters e and o ### [c26.s16.1](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c26.s16.1) The length of \*e\* and \*o\* (initial and medial) is not indicated in the Tamil-Brāhmī inscriptions of the Early Period,¹ and only sporadically in the Late Period and in the Early Vaṭṭeḻuttu inscriptions with the addition of the \*puḷḷi\* ('dot'). There is, however, no doubt that the respective short and long vowels existed in the language. This is proved by the following contrasting pairs of words in the Corpus. ### [c26.s16.2](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c26.s16.2) ¹ See sections 5.10 & 5.13 (\*e/o\*). ### [c26.s16.3](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c26.s16.3) | \*teṉ-\* | 'southern' (49.5.a) | \*tēṉ-\* | '(pleasing as) honey' (73.2.a) | | \*peru(m)-\* | 'great' (83.1.a) | \*pēr-\* | 'great' (13.2.a) | | \*veḷ-\* | 'white' (3.3.a) | \*vēḷ\* | 'a clan name' (32.1.c) | | \*koṭu-\* | 'to give' (3.9) | \*-kōṭu\* | 'mountain' (120.1.b) | | \*poṉ\* | 'gold' (36.2.a) | \*-pōṉ\* as in | \*vep(p)ōṉ\* (\*vaippōṉ\*) 'he who has endowed' (13.4) | --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c26.s16](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.epigraphy.mahadevan-2003.c26.s16) · Pramāṇa